Houseowner / Householder explained: benefits, limits and the fine print
Berjaya Sompo's Houseowner / Householder policy covers building and contents against fire, flood, windstorm and more, from a minimum RM60 premium. Here is what actually sits inside it.
Houseowner / Householder is Berjaya Sompo's package home insurance product, and its name reflects a distinction worth understanding before buying: Houseowner cover protects the building itself, while Householder cover protects the contents inside it. Berjaya Sompo sells this as a combined product covering both, open to individual homeowners as well as companies, for a range of residential property types.
What property types it covers
The policy is written for detached and non-detached dwellings as well as flats and apartments, which covers most residential property forms in Malaysia. It is available to individuals and to corporate policyholders, which makes it usable by, for example, a company that owns residential property as an asset rather than only owner-occupiers.
What is actually covered
Based on Berjaya Sompo's published material, the policy covers the building against fire and a list of named perils that extends well beyond fire alone, including flood and earthquake, and provides equivalent protection for contents against the same set of perils plus theft with forcible entry. The perils named in the insurer's own description of the policy include fire, lightning, thunderbolt and subterranean fire, explosion, damage from aircraft and articles dropped from them, impact from road vehicles or animals not belonging to or controlled by the insured or their family, and bursting or overflowing of domestic water tanks, pipes or apparatus, among others, subject to conditions and limits set out in the policy schedule.
Two optional extensions are available on top of the core cover: rent cover, which can be added up to 10% of the building sum insured, useful if you would need to fund alternative accommodation or lose rental income after a serious insured event, and public liability cover, available up to RM50,000 for any one accident, which protects against claims from third parties injured or whose property is damaged in connection with the insured premises. Cover for renovations, repairs and additions to the property is also available as an optional add-on rather than being automatically included in the base policy.
How the premium is structured
Berjaya Sompo prices this product on a rate basis tied to the sum insured: 0.090% of the sum insured for detached and non-detached dwellings, and a slightly higher 0.093% for flats and apartments. The insurer sets a minimum annual premium of RM60 regardless of how these rates work out on a small sum insured, so very low-value cover will still be charged at least that minimum.
What the product page leaves for the disclosure sheet to answer
The product page describes the general shape of the cover and its named perils, but it does not spell out every exclusion, claim condition or sub-limit, for example how theft cover interacts with the "forcible entry" requirement, or whether flood cover carries any sub-limit lower than the main building or contents sum insured. Those details sit in Berjaya Sompo's product disclosure sheet and policy wording, both published in English and Bahasa Melayu versions, and those documents are what actually govern a claim.
These figures reflect Berjaya Sompo's own published material as compiled for this product, current as of the date shown in that material. Rates, minimum premiums and terms can be revised by the insurer, so the disclosure sheet and policy wording available directly from Berjaya Sompo at the time of purchase take precedence over this article or the general product page if the two differ.
What to check regardless of which insurer you choose
Whatever Houseowner/Householder-type product you are comparing, a few checks matter generally: make sure the building sum insured reflects the cost of rebuilding, not the property's market value or your outstanding loan balance, since market value includes land cost and is not the relevant figure, and an under-insured sum can trigger an average clause that proportionally reduces a claim; confirm whether flood and earthquake are included as standard perils or need to be added, since not every basic fire-only product includes them; and check the public liability limit against your own risk, since RM50,000 may or may not be adequate depending on your circumstances and the property's use.
Talk to an advisor
Whether the standard perils and optional rent and liability extensions on this policy match what your specific property needs is easier to work through with someone who can compare it against alternatives. Compare property cover on our property insurance comparison, check your overall coverage with the gap check, or find an advisor through the advisor directory.
Sources
This content is educational information from a licensed advisor, not financial advice. Product details vary by insurer — verify specifics with an advisor.
